HIKING -- The photo with the Sunday Outdoors story of a beaming baby on his mother's back is worth a thousand words about an online social group that gets new parents out of the house and on the trail.

MaryBeth Bryant, who organized the mushrooming Spokane branch of Hike It Baby says she was initially motivated in November to take one of the website's challenges. Her son, Sully, was 8 months old at the time.

"The goal was to hike 30 miles together during the month," she said. "I never expected Sully to like it so much, and it was therapeutic for me," she said, noting that she smashed her goal that first month. "We hiked 68 miles in November and we've been going strong all winter, even in 12 degrees."

The Spokane branch of Hike It Baby has more than 300 members. Each week, they're leading about four hikes ranging from strolls to workouts.  Check 'em out.

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